Quitline 1800-11-2356 Gives Tobacco Users a Lifeline
The initiative began at the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, Delhi University, with a small team of counsellors and has since expanded its reach nationwide
NEW DELHI: The National Tobacco Quitline Services (NTQLS) has handled nearly one crore calls and helped 2,32,870 people quit tobacco since its launch in 2016, according to data released ahead of World No Tobacco Day. The toll-free service, 1800-11-2356, launched on May 30, 2016 by then Union health minister J.P. Nadda, has registered 6.75 lakh tobacco users and conducted over 37 lakh counselling sessions over the past decade.
Data showed that between May 2016 and April 2026, the quitline received 99.31 lakh calls through its interactive voice response system. Of these, 19.92 lakh were inbound calls, while 46.88 lakh were outbound calls made by counsellors.
During the period, 6.75 lakh users registered with the service, of whom 2,32,870 (34.46 per cent) successfully quit tobacco.
The initiative began at the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, Delhi University, with a small team of counsellors and has since expanded its reach nationwide.
Director of the institute and NTQLS coordinator Dr Raj Kumar said, “India has 267 million tobacco users — the second largest population of tobacco users in the world — and for years, there was not a single free, structured support system to help them quit. The Quitline did not just provide a service. It gave every Indian who wanted to quit the dignity of a free call that would be answered by a trained professional, regardless of where they were, what language they spoke, or how much money they had.”
Call volumes rose from 50,933 in 2016 to over 18 lakh in 2019 and stabilised at 8-13 lakh annually after the pandemic. The service crossed one lakh registrations for the first time in 2021, recording 1,28,809 users. Counselling sessions have exceeded five lakh annually since then.
Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of registrations at 2,09,964 and the highest number of successful quitters at 69,683. Young adults aged 18-24 years accounted for the largest group of quitters, with 91,933 individuals.
Former professor of pulmonary medicine at Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, Dr A.K. Janmeja said, “Data from the NTQLS over 10 years demonstrate that when a Quitline is well-resourced, professionally managed, and genuinely free and accessible, it reaches populations that no clinic can.”
Dr Raj Kumar called for dedicated state-level quitlines, training in medical and nursing colleges, and integration of the service with the Ayushman Bharat programme to expand its reach.